State v. Benvenuto

• Decision Date: 18 June 1999
• Docket Number: No. 980155.,980155.
• Citation: 1999 UT 60,983 P.2d 556
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Jorge Martin BENVENUTO, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

983 P.2d 556

1999 UT 60

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Jorge Martin BENVENUTO, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 980155.

Supreme Court of Utah.

June 18, 1999.

Jan Graham, Att'y Gen., Joanne C. Slotnik, Asst. Att'y Gen., Robert Stott, Roger Blaylock, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Robert L. Booker, David H. Tolk, Salt Lake City, for defendant.

RUSSON, Justice:

¶ 1 Defendant Jorge Martin Benvenuto appeals the district court's denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Benvenuto pled guilty to one count of aggravated murder and one count of attempted aggravated murder. Benvenuto then moved to withdraw his plea. The district court held a hearing, ruled that Benvenuto did not have good cause to withdraw the plea, and denied the motion. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 On the evening of August 28, 1996, eighteen-year-old Zachary Snarr and his friend Yvette Rodier drove to Little Dell Reservoir in Salt Lake County. As they parked off the road, they noticed a white truck pull up nearby. Taking a blanket, camera, and tripod, they walked partway down a footpath and prepared to take photographs of the moon. As Zachary and Yvette spread out the blanket and sat down, Benvenuto approached from behind and asked them a brief question about where the path went. Yvette replied that she did not know. When Yvette and Zachary turned their attention away from him, Benvenuto fired several shots at point-blank range with a handgun, hitting both Yvette and Zachary. Two bullets struck Zachary in the head, and one hit him in the abdomen; he died at the scene. Yvette survived the initial wounds she received and started screaming. Approximately thirty seconds after the first volley of shots, Benvenuto fired more shots at Yvette. He then searched both victims' pockets, took Zachary's keys, and left in Zachary's car. Although Yvette suffered multiple bullet wounds to her head, one to her shoulder, one to her leg, and two to her torso, she survived. She managed to crawl several hundred feet up to the highway, where a passing motorist saw her and stopped. Upon being notified of the crime, police officers arrived at the scene and found a white vehicle at the roadside pullout where Zachary and Yvette had parked. The vehicle was registered to Benvenuto. When police officers located Benvenuto and interviewed him, he confessed to the crime and expressed surprise that Yvette had survived his assault.

¶ 3 The State charged Benvenuto with aggravated murder (a capital homicide), attempted aggravated murder, and two counts of aggravated robbery. While his trial was pending, Benvenuto was incarcerated for a period of several months. Initially, he was housed in the mental health section of the Salt Lake County Jail on suicide watch. He received medication, and after a few months, his condition improved enough to allow him to be relocated in the general jail population.

¶ 4 The court appointed three attorneys from the Salt Lake Legal Defender's Association (LDA) to represent Benvenuto. A fourth LDA attorney was also appointed to assist with motions, mitigation issues, and sentencing. Three of the attorneys had prior experience representing clients charged with capital crimes. All four attorneys had extensive experience in representing clients charged with felonies and homicides and in dealing with clients who had mental health problems or whose competence to stand trial or enter a plea was questionable.

¶ 5 On November 7, 1996, Benvenuto's defense team petitioned for an inquiry into his competence to proceed. His attorneys consulted two mental health experts, Dr. Vickie Gregory, Ph.D., J.D., a forensic psychologist, and Dr. Breck Lebegue, M.D., J.D., a forensic psychiatrist. Dr. Gregory and Dr. Lebegue examined Benvenuto and provided their opinions to Benvenuto's defense team. After reviewing the opinions, the defense chose to withdraw Benvenuto's petition. On approximately October 9 or 10, 1997, the State offered a plea agreement. One of Benvenuto's attorneys requested an updated evaluation from Dr. Gregory before presenting the proposed plea agreement to Benvenuto. Dr. Gregory noted that Benvenuto was somewhat depressed but that there was nothing in his mental condition that would prevent him from entering a knowing and voluntary plea. The defense team then consulted extensively with Benvenuto regarding the nature and consequences of the proposed plea agreement.

¶ 6 On October 15, 1997, Benvenuto entered a guilty plea to the counts of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. In exchange for the plea, the State agreed to dismiss the robbery charges and not to seek the death penalty. Although the plea agreement contained no formal sentencing recommendation for the aggravated murder charge, the trial court made a verbal commitment — based on its discussion with the attorneys for both parties and the expressed wishes of the victims' families — to impose life without the possibility of parole if such a sentence was properly supported during the sentencing phase.

¶ 7 Prior to accepting Benvenuto's plea, the trial court conducted a full colloquy pursuant to rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure. The court first inquired as to the nature and scope of the information Benvenuto's attorneys had presented to him and Benvenuto's responses to that information. In particular, the court asked one of Benvenuto's attorneys, James A. Valdez, if he believed that Benvenuto was "offering a guilty plea voluntarily, knowingly, and with full understanding of his rights and the consequences of his actions here today." Valdez replied: "Yes, your honor. Mr. Benvenuto is quite an intelligent young man, and although there are some mental health issues that we know were present, he is quite capable of understanding everything that is going on today and exactly what he is doing today."

¶ 8 During the subsequent colloquy with Benvenuto, the court asked if he was being treated for any medical or mental conditions. Benvenuto definitively answered that he was not. Benvenuto's responses to all other questions were equally clear and forthright. There is no indication in the transcript of any indecision or equivocation regarding his plea decision, and Benvenuto never indicated to either the court or his counsel any feelings or conditions that would detract from his ability to enter a knowing and voluntary plea.

¶ 9 After entering the plea but before formal imposition of a sentence, Benvenuto engaged new counsel and timely moved to withdraw his plea. On January 16, 1998, the district court held an evidentiary hearing on the motion. The defense relied on Benvenuto's own testimony and that of two of his siblings. The gist of this testimony was that Benvenuto had been confused and depressed at the time he entered his plea. Benvenuto asserted that he would not have pled guilty if he had not been confused and depressed. Benvenuto argued that his counsel's failure to disclose the full extent of his prior mental health history to the court and the court's failure to sua sponte conduct extensive questioning about his mental state and condition at the time of the plea constituted good cause to withdraw the plea. The district court rejected Benvenuto's arguments and denied the motion to withdraw. In support of its ruling, the district court entered extensive findings of fact and conclusions of law. The court sentenced Benvenuto to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

¶ 10 "We review a trial court's denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea under an `abuse of discretion' standard, incorporating the `clearly erroneous' standard for the trial court's findings of fact made in conjunction with that decision." State v. Holland, 921 P.2d 430, 433 (Utah 1996) (citing State v. Blair, 868 P.2d 802, 805 (Utah 1993)). "However, the ultimate question of whether the trial court strictly complied with constitutional and procedural requirements for entry of a guilty plea is a question of law that is reviewed for correctness." Id.; see also State v. Thurman, 911 P.2d 371, 372 (Utah 1996)

.

¶ 11 The procedures for entering a guilty plea are set forth in rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure. "Rule 11(e) squarely places on trial courts the burden of ensuring that constitutional and Rule 11(e) requirements are complied with when a guilty plea is entered." State v. Gibbons, 740 P.2d 1309, 1312 (Utah 1987). This "strict compliance" rule requires the trial court to establish (1) that "the defendant's guilty plea is truly knowing and voluntary," and (2) that "the defendant knowingly waived his or her constitutional rights and understood the elements of the crime." State v. Abeyta, 852 P.2d 993, 995 (Utah 1993).

¶ 12 In this case, Benvenuto does not assert that he was incompetent to enter a plea. Compare Holland, 921 P.2d at 434

(mental conditions, including depression, rendered defendant incompetent to plead guilty) and State v. Romers, 159 Ariz. 271, 766 P.2d 623, 628 (Ct.App.1988) (where severe depression potentially affected defendant's competency, plea permitted to be withdrawn) with Johnson v. United States, 633 A.2d 828, 833 (D.C. 1993) (judge properly found defendant competent to plead guilty notwithstanding allegations of mental difficulties relating to depression) and State v. Comer, 584 A.2d 638, 642-43 (Me.1990) (allegation of depression did not justify withdrawal of plea where record evidence showed defendant was competent at time of plea). Rather, he contends that he was depressed at the time he entered his plea and that this condition impaired his judgment to such an extent that he was not capable of entering a truly voluntary plea. He likens the impairment caused by mild or moderate depression to the effects of alcohol or chemical intoxicants.

¶ 13 The trial court investigated this claim at the evidentiary hearing on Benvenuto's motion to withdraw. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court denied the ...